RISING HIGH Patrick Harte rises for the ball against Dublin.
Harte of the matter
The quiet man of Ballina’s dressing-room talked to us FEATURE
MIKE FINNERTY IF you were asked to write down a list of the Ballina Stephenites that have played for Mayo in the last twenty years, it probably wouldn’t take you very long to get started.
Some of the biggest personalities and most colourful characters to wear the county jersey in that time have come from Ballina: Jimmy Browne, Liam McHale, Kevin McStay, David Brady and Ronan McGarrity immediately spring to mind.
One thing these players also have in common is their ability to talk the talk. Microphones, dictaphones, cameras and questions don’t really bother the aforementioned quintet. Words come easy to them, they can express an opinion, and are not afraid to speak their mind. It is part of who they are.
Patrick Harte is probably the exception to that Ballina Stephenites rule. In fact, unless you’re a team-mate or one of his friends, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard Harte wax lyrical about the game he plays so well.
He doesn’t tend to do interviews, is not pushed about having his picture in the newspaper and keeps his head down when leaving the dressing-room. It’s not his thing; football is only part of his life, something he happens to excel at.
The ironic thing is that the 25-year-old from Castlecourt is one of the most interesting footballers The Mayo News has spoken to in recent times.
IT was Friday afternoon when Patrick Harte agreed to talk. Nine days before an All-Ireland club championship semi-final probably seemed like as good a time as any to break with tradition. Plus, the working week was tapering to a close and there was a rare window in his hectic schedule.
“The last couple of years have been great in a football context,” he concedes. “Winning the All-Ireland with Ballina was the start of it and then we got to the All-Ireland with Mayo the following year.
“Last year, to be honest, I didn’t seem to be as fit as I had been the previous year and I wasn’t playing as well with Mayo. Getting sent off against Galway in the championship was a real downer too.”
But ever since he walked out of Pearse Stadium last summer, Harte hasn’t paused for breath. Ballina needed his athleticism and power; he was only too happy to help.
“I’ve enjoyed my football with Ballina lately because you enjoy your football when you’re winning. And winning the semi-final and county final was great, two of the most satisfying games I’ve played in a long time.
“I knew if we could get our act together we had the potential to have a good year. But even though we’ve come out of Mayo and Connacht I don’t think we’ve played well for an hour yet. We played for 25 minutes against Ballaghaderreen and Charlestown, and only really played in patches against Tourlestrane and St Brigid’s too.
“I suppose the players we have is the reason why we’ve found ourselves in the semi-final without producing a performance for an hour. Most of the lads in the panel have been in, and won, an All-Ireland and that counts for a lot. Plus, a lot of us are playing together since we were ten years of age and we know what each other’s games inside out.”
THE midfielder-cum-wing-forward spent most of last year commuting from college in Edinburgh to play football with Mayo. National League games meant trips on planes, trains and automobiles and it all became a blur at times.
Now, ironically, he is based in Cork, home of Nemo Rangers. But his work as an engineer with a renewable energy company (Kedco) takes him to the four corners of the country and beyond so he knows nothing of Nemo’s plans for Sunday. He may be serious about his football but he is even more serious about his life.
“College was always second to football but it’s a lot different when you’re in a job,” he explains. “It has to be really, for myself in the long run as much as anything.
“I tend to take it one thing at a time, one game at a time anyway. I’m the type of fella who doesn’t know what he’ll be doing in six months. Hopefully, football will be part of it but you never know...
”And I’d like to get back into another All-Ireland final. Crossmolina have set the bar for every team in the county, us included. The goal for us is to match their record. The reality is that we’ll only be remembered as a great team if we match them.”
Perhaps Ballina have another GAA pundit on their hands after all.
